We are all Pakistanis and that itself is enough to glue us together

Recently, I came across an advertisement made by Filumbaaz for Leisure Club, a clothing company in Pakistan.

Inspired by Denmark’s TV2 ‘All That We Share’ concept, it was certainly something that we Pakistanis needed to see, especially keeping in mind the events of recent times. We have seen violence result from verbal disputes over literally nothing. We have seen people pull out guns because someone looked ‘weird’. We have seen a person lynched over a rumor.

The advertisement itself was dedicated to Mashal Khan and others who were forced to leave us long before their time.

It starts with various people walking into a large empty hall and placing themselves in different squares drawn on the floor. The rich stood in one, poor in another, pariahs, doctors who we rely on, the old-fashioned, the modern, the ‘burgers’, the ‘paindus’, the religious, the liberal. You get the idea.

Everyone was divided into categories that set them apart from each other. Or in simpler terms, it creates disparities. This is something that, unfortunately, comes naturally to us. Think of the first day in college, when you were instantly drawn to people who seemed more like you. You focused on them, putting the others aside.

We are so set in our ways and so used to differentiating that we just look on the surface, instantly judge and decide ourselves what the other must be like, concluding that we are not alike and poles apart.

This last question was vital, as there were people of different faiths and backgrounds who stood together united in one place. We stand apart from others, because of that one minor difference, ignoring that there are more things to bring us together and keep us there. We all leave our mark. We are all different yet similar. There is more out there to unite us than to divide us.

We would be a happier, optimistic and a more tolerant nation if we could just realise that. Or even just understand that even if there is nothing, we are all Pakistanis and that itself is enough to glue us together.

Here’s to more thoughtful ads.

“We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” – JK Rowling